We already know that one of the health effects of fast food consumption in children include obesity.

However, a new study reportedly suggests that depending on a child’s consumption of fast food, his or her academic growth can also be affected.

The research team, which was led by Katy Purtell, assistant professor of human sciences at Ohio State University, reportedly found that the higher the frequency of fast-food consumption in fifth grade, the worse children performed on math, reading and science tests in eighth grade, according to Medical News Today.

For the study, the researchers reportedly analyzed data on 11,470 children who completed a questionnaire on their food habits, and they found that kids who consumed fast food four to six times per week scored 20 percent lower on tests than kids who didn’t eat any fast food, according to the website BoxingDispatch.com.

“There’s a lot of evidence that fast-food consumption is linked to childhood obesity, but the problems don’t end there,” stated Purell.

She added, “Relying too much on fast food could hurt how well children do in the classroom. We’re not saying that parents should never feed their children fast food, but these results suggest fast-food consumption should be limited as much as possible.”

The researchers reportedly stated that their results remained even after accounting for other contributing factors, including exercise, television viewing time, family’s socioeconomic status, other food consumption and school and neighborhood characteristics.

Researchers reportedly stated that other studies have indicated that fast food lacks nutrients associated with cognitive development, such as iron.